Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Ph.D.

December 2016

Making America Rich Again:

The Latino Effect on Economic Growth

About the Author

Dr. Eisenach is a Managing Director and Co-Chair of NERAs Communications, Media, and
Internet Practice. He is also an Adjunct Professor at George Mason University Law School,
where he teaches Regulated Industries, and a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise
Institute, where he focuses on policies affecting the information technology sector,
innovation, and entrepreneurship. Previously, Dr. Eisenach served in senior policy positions at
the US Federal Trade Commission and the White House Office of Management and Budget,
and on the faculties of Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government and Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The author is grateful to Carey Ransone and Patrick McGervey for their assistance with this
report, and to the Latino Donor Collaborative and RBC Capital Markets for their sponsorship.
The views expressed are exclusively his own and do not necessarily represent those of NERA
Economic Consulting or any of the institutions with which he is affiliated.

I.

Introduction

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the contribution made by Latino Americans1 to
the US economy, based on data from a wide variety of government and private sources. The
findings are striking: To an extent few appreciate, the US Latino population is growing, young,
increasingly educated, employed, connected, entrepreneurial, and upwardly mobile in terms of
income as well as consumption.
Consider the following:

While much of the developed world is facing stagnant population growth and an increasingly
elderly age distribution, growth in the Latino population is keeping America both young and
growing. Between 1990 and 2015, the Latino population grew from 22 million to 57 million,
roughly five times as fast as the population overall. To illustrate this rapid growth, consider
that if the Latino population had grown at the same rate as the rest of the US, there would be
30 million fewer Americans today.

At 28 years old, the median Latino is nine years younger than the population at large and 15
years younger than the median white. Millenials make up 26 percent of the Hispanic
population, compared to 22 percent for the US population. Economic research suggests that
the youthful demographic profile of the Latino population enhances productivity and
increases growth in per capita incomes.

Latinos are responsible for 29 percent of the growth in real income since 2005. They account
for roughly 10 cents of every dollar of US national income, and that proportion is rising both
due to growth in the Latino population and rising per capita earnings.

Latinos play a critical role in the labor force, both as employees and, especially, as job
creators and entrepreneurs. They are more likely to participate in the labor force (65.9
percent vs. 62.7 percent) and to be employed (61.6 percent vs. 59.3 percent) than the overall
US population. While Latinos account for 17 percent of all workers, they account for 21
percent of new entrepreneurs. Latinos accounted for nearly half46 percentof the growth
in employment from 2011 to 2015.

Throughout this report, the words Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Latinos
in the United States. Further, for simplicity of exposition, the report refers to Hispanics, whites, and other groups as
ethnic groups (as opposed to racial or racial-ethnic groups). For statistical purposes, the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) defines Hispanic or Latino as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South
or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term, Spanish origin, can be used
in addition to Hispanic or Latino. See Standard for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race
and Ethncity, Office of Management and Budget (October 30, 1997) (available at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/information_and_regulatory_affairs/re_app-a-update.pdf).
See also Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, Office of
Management and Budget (October 30, 1997) (available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards).

The Hispanic poverty rate is falling more rapidly than for the rest of the population:
Hispanic poverty fell by 2.2 points from 2014 to 2015 (from 23.6 percent to 21.4 percent in
2015) while the national average rate fell by 1.3 pointsand Hispanics are the only major
ethnic group with a lower poverty rate today than in 2007.

As consumers, Latinos wield more than $1.3 trillion in buying power, and the number of
affluent Hispanic households is growing much faster than for the overall population: In 2015,
there were approximately 370,000 US Latino households with incomes over $200,000, an
increase of 187 percent since 2005.

The Latino population is also becoming more geographically dispersed across the US. The
final section of this study presents data on the 25 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with
the largest Latino economies, as measured by aggregate personal income. These communities
are located in every region of the US, from Atlanta to Denver, Chicago to Miami, Los
Angeles to Washington, DC, and together account for more than 36 million Latinos with
combined incomes of over $650 billion. Over the last decade, Latinos accounted for 22
percent of the growth in personal income in these MSAs.

The remainder of this study is organized as follows. Section II focuses on Latino demographics,
including the growth and age distribution of the Latino population and characteristics, such as
educational achievement and Internet connectivity. Section III presents data on the role of
Latinos as workers and entreprenuers. Section IV presents data on Latino income and purchasing
power. Section V focuses on the top 25 power MSAs. Section VI provides a brief summary of
the findings.

II.

The Latino Population: Growing, Young, Educated, Connected

Latinos represent the fastest growing ethnic group in the US, accounting for 53 percent of US
population growth since 2000. Indeed, if the Latino population had grown at the same rate as the
rest of the US population from 1990 to 2015, there would be 30 million fewer Americans today,
meaning millions fewer workers, consumers, and taxpayers. Importantly, Hispanics are much
younger than other Americans, with a median age of 28 years old compared to 37 years old for
all others. While Hispanics have traditionally lagged behind other groups in educational
attainment, they are catching up rapidly. It bodes well that the Latino population is in many
respects more connected to the Internet and electronic media than most other non-Hispanic
Americans.2

This section focuses on population growth and demographic characteristics. In the abstract, population growth
can have both positive and negative effects, but the data presented below demonstrate that Latinos are contributing
disproportionately to U.S. economic prosperity as well as to demographic vitality.

A. Latinos Account for More than Half of US Population Growth

In 1980, Latinos made up only 6.5 percent of the US population, but as Figure 1 shows, the
percentage increased to nearly 18 percent by 2015about 57 million out of a total of population
of 321 million.3
FIGURE 1:
HISPANIC POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE OF US POPULATION
(1980-2015)
350
309

Population (MM)

300
250
200

281
227
15
32

35

249
22
38

50

321
57

51

61

67

150
100

181

188

196

197

198

1980

1990

2000

2010

2015

50

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Source: US Census Bureau 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 Census; US Census Bureau Population Estimates Program.
Note: [1] The White Non-Hispanic category is for persons that identify their race as White alone. Persons that
identify as more than one race are included in the Other Non-Hispanic category. This is true for all other figures
unless otherwise noted. [2] Component parts of the population may not sum to the total because of rounding.

Here and throughout, the data includes all residents of the 50 U.S. states (not including Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, and other territories) irrespective of immigration status. The Pew Foundation reports that the the number of
undocumented immigrants from Central and South America (including Mexico) declined by five percent between
2009 and 2014, from 8.7 million to 8.2 million, falling from 2.8 percent to 2.6 percent of the resident population.
See Jeffrey S. Passel and DVera Cohn, Overall Number of U.S. Unauthorized Immigrants Holds Steady Since 2009,
PEW Research Center (September 20, 2016) (available at http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/09/20/overall-numberof-u-s-unauthorized-immigrants-holds-steady-since-2009/); see also U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
Program.

As shown in Figure 2, Latinos will make up an even larger share of the population in the years
ahead: Americas 70 million Latinos will make up 20 percent of the population in 2025; by 2050
the Latino population will exceed 105 million, representing more than a quarter of all Americans.
FIGURE 2:
US POPULATION BY ETHNIC GROUP
(2015 ACTUAL, 2020-2060 FORECAST)
450
400

Population (MM)

350
300
250
200

335

321

347

359

407

417

370

380

389

398

99

106

112

119

77

85

57

64

70

92

67

72

77

83

88

93

99

104

110

116

198

199

200

199

198

195

192

188

185

182

2015

2020

2025

2030

2035

2040

2045

2050

2055

2060

150
100
50
0

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Source: US Census Bureau Population Projections.

Hispanic

As shown in Figure 3, Hispanics accounted for more than half (53.2 percent) of the total change
in the US population between 2000 and 2015. According to the Census Bureau, 90 percent of
Latino population growth resulted from native births and deaths, and only 10 percent from
immigration.4
FIGURE 3:
SHARE OF POPULATION GROWTH BY RACIAL/ETHINIC GROUP (2000-2015)
60
53.2
50
40.8

(%)

40
30
20
10
0

6.0

Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

White Non-Hispanic

Source: US Census Bureau 2000 Census; US Census Bureau Population Estimates Program.

An increase in the Latino population growth has been and will continue to be essential to keeping
Americas population, and its economy, growingin contrast to other western countries, where
populations are shrinking. For example, the United Nations forecasts that Europes population
will decline from 738 million in 2015 to 707 million in 2050;5 populations in many developed
countries, including Bulgaria, Germany, Portugal, and Japan, are already declining.6

See Components of Resident Population Change by Race and Hispanic origin for the United States: April 1,
2010 to July 1, 2015, U.S. Census Bureau (available at
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2015_PEPCCOMPN&prodT
ype=table ).
5
See World Population Prospects, the 2015 Revision, United Nations (available at
https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/).
6
See World Population Prospects, Key Findings & Advanced Tables, 2015 Revision, United Nations (2015)
(available at https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/Key_Findings_WPP_2015.pdf)

One way to think about the Latino contribution to US population growth is shown in Figure 4.
The top line shows the actual growth in the US population between 1990 and 2015, while the
middle line shows what the growth rate would have been if the Hispanic population had grown at
the same rate as the rest of the US population. Figure 4 shows that the difference is about 12
percentage pointsoverall growth of 29 percent versus only 17 percent without the Latino effect.
In numerical terms, that translates into about 30 million additional Americans.
To put these figures in further perspective, the lowest of the three lines in Figure 4 portrays the
rate of population growth in the European Union over the same period 25-year periodjust
seven percent. Thus, while growth in the the US would have still outpaced the EU even without
the Latino effect, the difference would have been reduced by more than half.
FIGURE 4:
THE LATINO EFFECT ON US POPULATION GROWTH (1990-2015)

Population Index (Indexed to 1990)

135

U.S. - Actual

130

U.S. - Non-Hispanic Growth

125

EU

129

120

117

115
110
105
100

107

106
103
101
1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Source: US Census Bureau 1990, 2000, 2010 Census; US Census Bureau Population Estimates Program;
EuroStat. Note : EU includes the population of the current 28 EU member countries from 1990 to 2015.

Geographically, Americas Hispanic population is widely and increasingly dispersed. As shown

in Figure 5, about half of all Latinos live in California, Florida, and Texas, with the remainder
dispersed throughout the rest of the US.7
FIGURE 5:
HISPANIC POPULATIONS BY STATE (2015)
California

15.2

Texas

10.7

Florida

5.0

New York

3.7

Illinois

2.2

Arizona

2.1

New Jersey

1.8

Colorado

1.2

New Mexico

1.0

Georgia

1.0

Other States

12.9
0

6
8
10
12
Hispanic Population (MM)

14

16

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program.

The Hispanic population of California is currently approximately 15.2 million compared 14.9 million nonHispanic whites. See Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin for the United
States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 2015, 2015 Population Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (available
at https://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2015/index.html).

Figure 6 shows the states with the highest Hispanic population as a percentage of total
population. As shown, New Mexico had the highest population as a percentage of total
population in 2015 at 48 percent of the population, followed by approximately 39 percent for
both California and Texas.
FIGURE 6:

DISTRIBUTION OF STATES BY PERCENTAGE OF HISPANIC POPULATION (2015)

New Mexico

48

Texas

39

California

39

Arizona

31

Nevada

28

Florida

24

Colorado

21

New Jersey

20

New York

19

Illinois

17

U.S.

18

10

15

20
25
30
35
Percent of Population (%)

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program.

40

45

50

Figure 7 shows the 10 states with the fastest rates of Latino population growth between 2010 and
2015. None of the states experiencing the most rapid growth in Hispanic population are among
the top ten states in either total Latino population or percentage of population.
FIGURE 7:
STATES WITH MOST RAPID HISPANIC POPULATION GROWTH
(2010-2015)
North Dakota

99

South Dakota

41

Alaska

32

Montana

30

Vermont

25

West Virginia

25

New Hampshire

24

Maine

24

Hawaii

23

Maryland

22
0

20

40
60
80
Percent Change (%)

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program.

10

100

120

B. Latinos are Keeping America Young

Throughout the western world, birthrates are declining, population growth is stagnant, and
median ages are rising. Thanks mostly to Latinos, America is the exception to the rule. As the
Economist recently observed:
From Europe to north-east Asia, the 21st century risks being an age of old people,
slow growth and sour, timid politics. Between now and mid-century,
Germanys median age will rise to 52. Chinas population growth will flatten and
then fall; its labour force is already shrinking. Not Americas. By 2050 its median
age will be a sprightly 41 and its population will still be growing. Latinos will be
a big part of that story.8
As shown in Figure 8, Latinos are by far the youngest major ethnic group in the US, with a
median age in 2015 of 28 years oldnine years younger than the overall median age of 37 years
old, and a remarkable 15 years younger than the median age among whites.
FIGURE 8:
MEDIAN AGE BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2015)
50
43

45

40

37
33

Median Age

35
30

28

25
20
15
10

5
0

Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Total

White NonHispanic

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program.

How to Fire Up America, The Economist (March 14, 2015) (available at

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21646202-rise-latinos-huge-opportunity-united-states-must-not-squanderit-how-fire-up).

11

The picture is even more stark when one looks at the ends of the age distribution. Latinos are
both more likely to be young and less likely to be elderly than the overall population. As shown
in Figure 9, nearly a third of Latinos are under 18 years old, while only five percent are over 68
years old.
FIGURE 9:
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2015)
Hispanic

32

White Non-Hispanic

26

19

Other Non-Hispanic

20

20

26

Total

22
20

15

28

25

23
0

22

14

21

20
40

Younger than 18

Millenial Adults (18-33)

Boomer (50-68)

Silent/Greatest (69 Older)

20

24
60

80

11
100

Gen X (34-49)

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program. Note: Percentages do not sum to 100 because of rounding error.

12

Figure 10 focuses on the change in the under-18 US population between 2000 and 2015, and
paints a striking picture: During those years, the white under-18 population declined by about six
million people, while the the number of Latinos grew by almost precisely as many.
FIGURE 10:
CHANGE IN US POPULATION UNDER AGE 18 BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP
(2000-2015)

Hispanic

5.8

White Non-Hispanic

-6.1

Other Non-Hispanic

1.6

-8

-4

0
4
Population Change (MM)

Source: US Census Bureau 2000 Census and US Census Population Estimates Program..

13

Figure 11 compares the age distribution of Latinos with the population overall. The top chart
shows the proportion of the population comprised of each age group for the Hispanic population
and the US overall. In the bottom chart, each bar shows the difference between the proportion of
the Latino population that falls into each age group versus the proportion of the population
overall. ispanics are much more likely to be young, and much less likely to be elderly, than the
overall population.
FIGURE 11:
AGE DISTRIBUTION OF HISPANICS VS. OVERALL US POPULATION
BY AGE GROUP (2015)
10

Hispanic

Percent of Population (%)

Overall

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

Difference

4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3

Source: US Census Population Estimates Program.

14

The younger profile of the Latino population has direct and significant implications for economic
growth because economic research shows a clear link between the aging of a population and
productivity growth. For example, one recent study found that a 10 percent increase in the
fraction of the population age 60+ decreases growth in GDP per capita by 5.5 percent.9 Applying
those results to the difference between the Latino and overall US age distributions, it is logical to
calculate the effect of the relatively youthful Latino population on growth: If the age distribution
of Latinos were the same as for the population overall, the rate of GDP growth would decline by
5.2 percent, meaning that in 2025 US GDP would be lower by $601 per capita, or $193 billion.10

Nicole Maestas, Kathleen Mullen and David Powell, The Effect of Population Aging on Economic Growth,
the Labor Force and Productivity, RAND Labor & Population Working Paper (August 2016) at 1 (hereafter
Maestas et al. (2016)) (available at http://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR1063-1.html).
10
As of 2015, approximately 5.6 million Latinos (10 percent) were 60 years of age or older versus 51 million
Latinos younger than 60. By comparison, 23 percent of non-Latinos (approximately 61 million people) were 60+. If
the Latino population had the same age distribution as the non-Latino population, there would be 13 million Latinos
age 60+, raising the proportion of the overall U.S. population age 60+ from 21 to 23 percent, or by 9.5 percent.
Based on the results of the RAND paper, the effect would be to decrease the rate of growth of U.S. per capita GDP
by 5.2 percent. GDP per capita in 2015 was $56,066. (See Gross Domestic Product Per Capita, Bureau of
Economic Analysis (July 19, 2016) accessed through FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) (available at
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RC0A052NBEA). The calculated decline in GDP assumes the increase in the
older population takes place over a 10-year period and than annual growth in GDP per capita would otherwise have
been 1.88 percent, which is the average annual growth of U.S. GDP per capita from 1960 to 2010. (Maestas et al.
(2016) at 30).

15

C. Latino Educational Attainment is Rising

While Latino educational attainment has traditionally trailed that of non-Hispanic whites, the gap
is narrowing rapidly.
As shown in Figure 12, in 1980, 56 percent of Hispanics lacked a high school diploma, a figure
that declined to 34 percent by 2015. Over the same period, the proportion of Hispanics with at
least some college education increased from 22 percent to 39 percent.
FIGURE 12:
HISPANIC EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY PROPORTION OF POPULATION AGE 25 AND OLDER
(1980-2015)
Percent of Hispanic Population (%)

45
40
35
30
25
20

40

31

28

26
22

20
16

15

15

1990

2010

2015

2000

28

22 22 22

20 20

1980

19 20

23 24

14

14

10

10

13

15

5
0

< 9th Grade

9th-12th Grade

Highschool
Graduate

Two-Year
Degree/Some
College

Bachelor's Degree
or More

Source: Source: 1980, 1990 and 2000 Census (IPUMS); 2010 American Community Survey (IPUMS) and 2015
American Community Survey.

16

Hispanic college enrollment has also increased. As shown in Figure 13, the proportion of college
age Latinos (18- to 24-year-olds) enrolled in college increased from 16 percent in 1980 to 37
percent in 2015, approaching the US average of 41 percent overall.
As the Congressional Joint Economic Committee explained in 2013 report:
The share of Hispanic high school seniors who enrolled in college immediately
following graduation has jumped 20 percentage points in the past 12 years, from
49 percent in 2000 to 69 percent in 2012. Hispanic enrollment in college after
high school now outpaces that of white (67 percent) and black (63 percent) high
school graduates.11
According to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, Enrollment of US
residents [in US degree-granting postsecondary institutions] is projected to increase 25 percent
for students who are Hispanic between 2013 and 2024.12
FIGURE 13:
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AS A PERCENTAGE
OF RESIDENT POPULATION AGES 18-24 (1980-2015)
45.0

40.5

Percent of Population (%)

40.0
35.0

36.6

30.0 25.6
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0

All
16.1

Hispanic

5.0
0.0

Source: US Census Bureau Current Population Survey.

11

U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff, Americas Hispanic Population: An Economic
Snapshot (October 2013) at 2 (available at http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/7a08df2f-2485-422d806e-0c239bebab5a/hispanic-economic-snapshot---final.pdf).
12
Projections of Education Statistics to 2024, Forty-third Edition, National Center for Education Statistics
(September 2016) at 27 (available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016013.pdf).

17

While the increase in college enrollment is encouraging, it is also worth noting that a growing
proportion of Latinos are completing high school. As shown in Figure 14, the Hispanic high
school dropout rate has decreased by almost 75 percent, falling from 40 percent in 1980 to 10
percent in 2015.
FIGURE 14:
HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES
(1980-2015)
45
Percent of Population (%)

40

40.3

All
Hispanic

35
30

25
20
15
10

10.3

15.6

6.4

Source: US Census Bureau Current Population Survey. Figures are the proportion of the 18-24 year-old population without
a high school diploma.

18

The youthfulness of the Latino population also coincides with high and growing levels of
English language proficiency: Most Latinos speak English, and nearly all young Latinos speak
English proficiently. As shown in Figure 15, 99 percent of five- to 17-year-old Latinos speak
English, and 87 percent speak it well or exclusively. (For Millenials, ages 18 to 33, the figures
are 95 percent and 76 percent, respectively.)13 Overall, 94 percent of Latinos speak English and
69 percent of Latinos are proficient.
FIGURE 15:
HISPANIC ENGLISH SPEAKING PROFICIENCY BY AGE GROUP (2014)
100
90

1
12

80

19
36

70
(%)

60

22

37
35

48

42

40

35

30
37

10
0

7
25

50

50

20

12

Ages 5 to 17

28
Millenial
Adults (18-33)

32

27

20

20

16

Gen X
(34-49)

Boomer
(50-68)

Silent/Greatest
(69 and Older)

27
All Ages

Speak Only English at Home

Speak English Very Well

Speak English Less Than Well

Do Not Speak English

Source: 2014 American Community Survey (IPUMS).

13

Proficient is defined as Speak Only English at Home or Speak English Very Well. See Eileen Patten,
The Nations Latino Population is Defined by Its Youth, Pew Research Center (April 20, 2016) at 8 (available at
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/04/20/the-nations-latino-population-is-defined-by-its-youth/).

19

Hispanics also have a higher life expectancy rate when compared to other ethnic groups. Figure
16 shows that Hispanic life expectancy exceeds the population average by about three years. The
life expectancy of a Latino born in 2014 was 81.8 years, compared to 78.8 for other Americans.
FIGURE 16:
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH, BY ETHNIC GROUP (2006-2014)
83
81.8

Life Expectancy at Birth (Years)

82
81

80.3

80
79

78.8

78.2

78
77

Hispanic

77.8

White Non-Hispanic
All

76
75

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Source: Health, United States, 2015, With Special Feature on Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, US
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (May 2016) at Table
15 (available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus15.pdf#015).

20

D. Latinos are Connected to the Internet

It is well established that Internet access and adoption are correlated with both social and
economic measures of success.14 In the US, Internet adoption among Hispanics, which initially
trailed adoption by whites, has nearly caught up: The gap, which stood at eight points as recently
as 2009, has narrowed to just three points, based on the most recent data from the Pew Research
Center, shown in Figure 17.15
FIGURE 17:

HISPANIC INTERNET USAGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF ADULT HISPANIC POPULATION

(2009-2015)
90

Percent of Population (%)

80
70

76

76
68

79

83

71

73

2010

2011

79

84

81

84

81

84

81

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

2009

Total

2012

2013

2014

2015

Hispanic

Source: Andrew Perrin and Maeve Duggan, Americans' Internet Access: 2000-2015, Pew Research (June 26,
2015) (available at http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/06/26/americans-internet-access-2000-2015/). Note:
Survey Internet users are defined as survey participants that responded Yes to the question Do you use the
internet or email, at least occasionally? or Do you access the internet on a cell phone, tablet or other
mobile handheld device, at least occasionally?

14

See e.g., Nina Czernich, Oliver Falck, Tobias Kretschmer, and Ludger Woessmann, Broadband
Infrustructure and Economic Growth, The Economic Journal 121 (May 2011) 505-532 (finding that the
introduction of broadband in OECD countries led to a 2.7-3.9 percent increase in GDP per capita). For a larger
discussion of the benefits of broadband see The Digital Divide and Economic Benefits of Broadband Access,
Council of Economic Advisers Issue Brief (March 2016) at 5-6 (available at
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/20160308_broadband_cea_issue_brief.pdf).
15
Another Pew Research study notes that overall home broadband adoption has plateaued. See John Horrigan
and Maeve Dugga, Home Broadband 2015, Pew Research Center (December 21, 2015) (available at
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/12/21/home-broadband-2015/).

21

While Latino Internet penetration remains slightly below the overall population, use of cell
phones and smartphones is actually higher. Figure 18 shows the cellphone and smartphone
ownership as a percentage of the adult population in 2014. As the figure shows, 92 percent of
Hispanics owned a cellphone, compared to 90 percent for the total population and for white nonHispanics, and 71 percent of Hispanics owned smartphones, compared to 64 percent for the total
population and 61 percent for white non-Hispanics.
FIGURE 18:
CELLPHONE AND SMARTPHONE OWNERSHIP AS PERCENTAGE OF THE ADULT POPULATION
(2014)
100
90

92

90

Hispanic

90

All
White Non-Hispanic

Percent of Population (%)

80

71

70

64

60

61

50
40
30

20
10
0

Cellphone

Smartphone

Sources: Cell Phone and Smartphone Ownership Demographics, Pew Research Center (available at
http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/mobile/cell-phone-and-smartphone-ownership-demographics/); U.S
Smartphone Use in 2015, Pew Research Center (April 1, 2015) (available at
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/01/us-smartphone-use-in-2015/). .

22

Hispanics use the Internet for a wide variety of purposes, notably to research goods before
making a purchase. As shown in Figure 19, the percentage of Hispanic buyers that utilize
interactives tools and websites while planning shopping is higher than the US average for all but
one interactive tool. The use of interactive tools to plan shopping is even higher among older
Hispanic Millenials, as well.

FIGURE 19:
PERCENTAGE OF HISPANIC BUYERS THAT USE INTERACTIVE TOOLS/SITES FOR PLANNING
SHOPPING (2015)
35
30

(%)

25

30
27

U.S Shoppers

30
25

24

22
19

20
15

Hispanic Shoppers
26

24
17

Older Hispanic Millenials (25-34)

25
22

21

19
16

15
12

10

10

18

17

16

14

10

14

11

5
0

Email

Websites Social
Text Messages iPhones/Smart
Mobile
Product, Store Networking
Phone
Application
or
Grocery/Meal
Recipe/Meal
Planning App
Planning

list/Notes
Function on
Smart
Phone/Tablet

Mobile
Websites

Group Buying
Sites

Source: The Why Behind the Buy: US Hispanic Shopper Study, 4th Edition, Acosta (2015) at 4 (available at
http://www.acosta.com/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=10737420343&libID=10737420344). Note: Chart
shows survey responders response to the question What online or interactive tools/sites do you use,at least once a week, for
planning your grocery shopping trip and/or which specific products you eventually decide to buy?

23

Latinos are also avid consumers of online content, especially mobile. As shown in Figure 20,
Latinos are more than 10 percentage points more likely than Americans overall to use
smartphones apps and to use their smartphones to visit web pages or watch video online.
FIGURE 20:
PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION USING SMARTPHONES TO CONSUME CONTENT
(Q2 2015 Q2 2016)
100

Percentage of Population (%)

90
80

94
86

Hispanic

All

83
73

74

70

70
60

64
55

50
40
30
20
10
0

Q2 2015

Q2 2016

App/Web on Smartphone

Q2 2015

Q2 2016

Video on a Smartphone

Source: Nielsen Total Audience Report Q2 2016.

24

Hispanics are also highly engaged in social networks. As shown, in Figure 21, eMarketer
estimates that Hispanics accounted for 18.4 percent of social network users in 2016, rising to
20.3 percent in 2019.
FIGURE 21:
HISPANICS AS A PERCENTAGE OF SOCIAL NETWORK USERS (2013-2019)

Percent of Social Network Users (%)

100
90
80
70

16.4

17.0

17.8

18.4

19.3

20.1

20.3

20.2

20.5

20.6

20.8

20.9

20.9

20.9

63.4

62.5

61.6

60.8

59.8

59.0

58.8

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

60
50
40
30

20
10
0

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Source: "Hispanics Make Social a Crucial Part of Digital Lives," eMarketer (May 28, 2015) (available at
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Hispanics-Make-Social-Crucial-Part-of-Digital-Lives/1012534).
Note:
Social
network users include Internet users who use social networks via any device at least once per month.

25

III. Latinos in the Workforce: Engaged and Entrepreneurial

As noted above, economic growth is driven by two factors: growth of the labor force and growth
in productivity.16 As noted above, Latinos are responsible for more than half of US population
growth and are much younger than the population overall. As discussed below, they are also
more likely to participate in the labor force and to be employed than other Americans; in addition
they are disproportionately engaged in entrepreneurship.

A. Latinos are Working

Hispanics make up a growing share of the US labor force for two primary reasons. First, the
Hispanic population is growing. Second, Hispanics are more likely than other Americans to
participate in the labor force and, as a result, more likely to be employed.
Figure 22 shows the labor force participation rate for Hispanics and other racial/ethnic groups in
2015. As the figure shows, the Latino labor force participation rate of 65.9 percent is higher than
the participation rate of whites (62.2 percent) and the US as a whole (62.7 percent).
FIGURE 22:
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2015)
Labor Force Participation Rate (%)

67
66

65.9

65
64
62.7

63

62.2

62

61.6

61
60
59

Hispanic

All

White NonHispanic

Other NonHispanic

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

16

Bruce Fallick and Jonathan Pingle, The Effect of Population Aging on Aggregate Labor Supply in the
United States, Labor Supply in the New Century (2008) 31-63 at 31 (Output growth is determined by growth in
labor productivity and growth in labor input.).

26

Figure 23 shows the Hispanic labor force over the period of 2011 to 2015. The Hispanic labor
force increased from approximately 22.9 million to 26.1 million, and currently makes up
approximately 16.8 percent of the total labor force. A recent report by IHS Economics (IHS)
analyzes the importance of Hispanics to the US labor force and employment.17 The report notes:
The Hispanic population will play an increasingly significant role in US
employment growth because the Hispanic population is a younger and faster
growing segment of the population, while trends in the non-Hispanic population
are heavily influenced by the aging Baby Boomer generation that is moving into
retirement.18
IHS forecasts growth in the Hispanic labor force from 2019 to 2034, which is represented in
Figure 23. The Hispanic labor force is forecasted to increase to 41.4 million in 2034 and make up
almost a quarter of the total US labor force. The forecast from the IHS report predicts that
Hispanics will account for more than 65 percent of the growth in the US labor force from 2015 to
2034.
FIGURE 23:
LABOR FORCE BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP
(2011-2015 ACTUAL, 2019-2034 FORECAST)
200

Labor Force (MM)

180

155.4

157.1

155.9

160

153.6

155.0

140

22.9

24.4

24.8

25.4

26.1

120

27.4

28.7

29.3

29.9

30.6

171.4

175.1

180.4

30.0

34.0

37.8

41.4

135.9

137.4

137.4

139.0

2019

2024

2029

2034

165.9

100
80
60
40

103.3

101.9

101.3

100.7

100.4

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

20
0

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistcs; James Gillula, Hispanic Immigration and US Economic Growth, IHS
Economics (February 2015) (available at https://www.ihs.com/pdf/Hispanic-Immigration-and-EconomicGrowth_219008110915583632.pdf).

17

James Gillula, Hispanic Immigration and US Economic Growth, IHS Economics (February 2015) (hereafter
IHS Economics (2015)) (available at https://www.ihs.com/pdf/Hispanic-Immigration-and-Economic).
18
IHS Economics (2015) at 11.

27

Hispanics also compare favorably to other racial/ethnic groups in terms of the employment
rate.19 As shown in Figure 24, in 2015 the Hispanic employment rate was the highest of any
major racial/ethnic groups at 61.6 percent, compared to 59.6 percent for whites, 56.8 percent for
others, and 59.3 overall.
FIGURE 24:
EMPLOYMENT RATE BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2015)
62

61.6

Employment Rate (%)

61
60

59.6

59.3

59
58

56.8

57

56
55
54

Hispanic

White NonHispanic

All

Other NonHispanic

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: Rate shown is the average for the entire year.

The differences in the rate of employment between Hispanics and other ethnic groups is even
more pronounced when looking at the male population. More than three quarters (76.2 percent)
of Latino men are employed, compared with approximately 64 percent for other ethnic groups.20

19

The employment rate is the number of employed as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population.
20
Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity, 2015, Bureau of Labor Statistics (September 2016),
Table 3 (available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/race-and-ethnicity/2015/home.htm).

28

Hispanics have also seen a significant rise in employment levels. Figure 25 shows the number of
employed Hispanics increased from 20.3 million in 2011 to 24.4 million in 2015, and Hispanics
currently make up approximately 16.4 percent of employment. IHS forecasts Hispanic
employment to increase to 39.2 million by 2034, when Latinos will account for nearly 25 percent
of working Americans.
FIGURE 25:
ANNUAL AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP
(2011-2015 ACTUAL, 2019-2034 FORECAST)
180
160
Employment (MM)

140
120
100

148.8

139.9

142.5

143.9

146.3

20.3

21.9

22.5

23.5

24.4

23.8

25.4

26.2

27.1

28.2

162.7

166.3

171.4

28.1

32.1

35.6

39.2

129.0

130.7

130.7

132.2

2019

2024

2029

2034

157.1

80
60
40

95.8

95.2

95.2

95.7

96.2

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

20
0

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistcs; James Gillula, Hispanic Immigration and US Economic Growth, IHS
Economics (February 2015) (available at https://www.ihs.com/pdf/Hispanic-Immigration-and-EconomicGrowth_219008110915583632.pdf).

29

Figure 26 shows the distribution of employment by ethnicity by major occupational category.

Latinos continue to be under-represented in management and and professional employment, but
over-represented in service industries, construction, and natural resources.
FIGURE 26:
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYED PERSONS BY OCCUPATION AND ETHNICITY (2015)

Percentage of Employed Persons (%)

100
90

Management, Professional
and Related

22

80
70
60

30
20
10
0

Service

25

50
40

39

42

17

16

21

23

23

16

11

12

Hispanics

Non-Hispanics

All

16

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

30

Sales and Office

Natural Resources,
Construction and
Maintenance
Production, Transportation
and Material Moving

Figure 27 shows a more detailed breakdown of employment by industry. Hispanics are

disproportionately employed in construction, agriculture, and service industries, where they
make up more than one-fifth of the workforce.
FIGURE 27:
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYED PERSONS THAT ARE HISPANIC BY INDUSTRY (2015)
Construction

28.5

Agriculture

23.9

Leisure and Hospitality

22.6

Other Services

18.9

Transportation and Utilities

17.6

Mining

16.9

Wholesale and Retail Trade

16.8

Professional and Business Services

16.3

Manufacturing

16.2

Financial Activities

11.8

Public Administration

11.7

Education and Health Services

11.6

Information

Over Represented
Under Represented

11.2
0

10

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

31

15
(%)

20

25

30

B. Latino Entrepreneurs are Driving Job Creation and Growth

There is a growing consensus among modern economists that entrepreneurship and new business
formation account for a disproportionate share of job creation and economic growth.21 For
example, research by John Haltiwanger suggests the creation of new businesses is integral to
sustaining a robust economy. In a 2012 report, Haltiwanger notes:
Business dynamism plays an important role in job creation and productivity
growth in the United States. Business start-ups are an important contributor to that
dynamism. Start-ups contribute disproportionately to job creation but are very
heterogeneous in terms of productivity. The subsequent up-or-out dynamic of
young businesses is an important source of job and productivity growth: exiting
young businesses are of very low productivity, and the surviving young
businesses exhibit rapid growth with above average productivity.22

21

For a more extensive review of the economic literature on business dynamism, see Jeff Eisenach, The LongRun Effects of Employment Regulation on Californias Economy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (July 12, 2016)
(available at https://www.uschamber.com/report/the-long-run-effects-employment-regulation-california-s-economy).
22
John Haltiwanger, Job Creation and Firm Dynamics in the United States, Innovation Policy and Economy
12 (April 2012) 17-38 at 20.

32

As noted above, productivity is one of the two major drivers of economic growth. It is
significiant, therefore, that Latinos contribute disproportionately to new business formation and
entrepreneurship. For example, data from the US Census Bureaus Survey of Business owners
show that the number of Hispanic-owned firms doubled over the period of 2002 and 2012 from
1.6 million to 3.3 million. As shown in Figure 28, Hispanic-owned businesses accounted for 12
percent of all US firms in 2012, up from 6.8 percent a decade earlier.
FIGURE 28:
HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES
(2002-2012)
100

Percent of All Firms (%)

98
96

6.8

8.3

94

12.0

92

Hispanic

90

88

Non-Hispanic
93.2

86

91.7
88.0

84
82

2002

2007

2012

Source: US Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners. Note: The category Non-Hispanics includes all firms
not categorized as Hispanics including firms categorized as equally owned by Hispanics and non-Hispanics,
publicly owned firms and firms that cannot be categorized by race or ethnicity.

33

Looking at data from 2007 and 2012 provides a snapshot of the economy before and after the
Great Recession of 2008-2009. As shown in Figure 29, the number of Hispanic-owned firms
increased by 46.3 percent over this period, compared to a decline of 2.1 percent by nonHispanic-owned firms. Hispanic-owned business sales receipts increased by 35.1 percent
compared to 11.4 percent for non-Hispanic-owned businesses. During this period, the number of
paid employees of Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 22.1 percent, while employment by
non-Hispanic-owned businesses actually fell by 2.2 percent.
FIGURE 29:
PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN FIRMS, SALES RECEIPTS AND EMPLOYMENT BY ETHNICITY OF
OWNER
(2007-2012)
50

46.3

Hispanics

Percent Change (%)

40

Non-Hispanic

35.1

All

30
22.1
20
11.4 11.7
10
2.0
0
-2.2 -1.8

-2.1
-10

Firms

Sales Receipts

Employment

Source: US Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners. Note: [1] Firms and Sales Receipts include counts for
firms with and without paid employees. [2] Employment is limited to paid employees.

34

Other data sources further validate the disproportionate role of Latinos as entrepreneurs. For
example, the Kauffman Institute defines the entrepreneurship rate as the percentage of the
adult, non-business-owner population that starts a business each month.23 Figure 30 shows the
entrepreneurship rate from 1996 to 2015 by major ethnic group. Hispanics have had the highest
entrepreneurship rate of any ethnic group each year since 2002.

FIGURE 30:
RATE OF NEW ENTREPRENEURS BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (1996-2015)
0.6
0.5

Rate (%)

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0

Hispanic

White

Total

Black

Asian

Source: Fairlie et al. (2016). [1] Estimates calculated by authors using the Current Population Survey. [2] The
entrepreneurship index is the percent of individuals (ages 20 to 64) who do not own a business in the first survey month
that start a business in the following month with 15 or more hours worked. [3] Race and Spanish codes changed in
2003. Estimates for 2003 only include individuals reporting one race. [4] All observations with allocated labor force
status, class of worker, and hours worked variables are excluded.

23

Robert W. Fairlie, Arnobio Morelix, E.J. Reedy, and Joshua Russell, The Kauffman Index 2016: Startup
Activity, Kaufman Foundation (2016) at 32 (hereafter Fairlie et al. (2016)) (available at
http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/microsites/kauffman_index/startup_activity_2016/kauffman_index
_startup_activity_national_trends_2016.pdf)

35

As shown in Figure 31, by 2015 Latinos accounted for more than one out of five new
entrepreneurs, increasing from 10 percent in 1996.
FIGURE 31:
CHANGES IN COMPOSITION OF NEW ENTREPRENEURS BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP
(1996, 2015)

2015

1996
13%

19%

10%

White

White

Latino

Latino

Other

Other

21%
61%

77%
Source: Fairlie et al. (2016).

36

IV. Latinos are Prosperous and Upwardly Mobile

On average, Latinos earn and spend less than other Americansbut the gap is closing rapidly.
Recent data shows Hispanic income growing faster than any other ethnic groupand with
growing income comes increased buying power.

A. Latinos are Becoming More Affluent

As shown in Figure 32, Latinos have traditionally lagged behind the overall population in
median income.
FIGURE 32:
REAL MEDIAN INCOME BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (1972-2015)
70,000

Median Income ($2015)

60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000

All
Hispanics
White - Not Hispanic

Source: US Census Bureau.

As the figure also suggests, however, Latino incomes are growing more rapidly than the rest of
the population. Figure 33 reports the most recent data from the US Census Bureau, which shows
that Latino median income rose 6.1 percent from 2014 to 2015, compared to a 5.2 percent
increase for the population overall and a 4.4 percent increase for whites.24

24

Bernadette Proctor, Jessica Semega, and Melissa Kollar, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015, U.S.
Census Bureau (September 2016) at 7 (available at https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60256.html).

37

FIGURE 33:
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE IN REAL MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY ETHNIC GROUP
(2014-2015)

2014-2015 YoY Change (%)

7
6

6.1
5.2

4.4

4
3
2
1
0

Hispanics

All

White Non-Hispanic

Source: US Census Bureau.

Data on aggregate income from the American Community Survey (ACS) show that the rapid
increase increase in Hispanic incomes is has been occurring for some time: between 2005 to
2015, Hispanicswho represent just 18 percent of the populationaccounted for 29 percent of
of the growth in real aggregate income.25 US Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that median
weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers rose almost 11 percent for Hispanics
between the first quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2016, more than triple the increase for
the population overall.26

25

U.S. Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: First Quarter 2000
(April 19, 2000) (available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/history/wkyeng_04192000.txt); BLS, Usual Weekly
Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: First Quarter 2016 (April 19, 2016) at 6 (available at
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf). Note: Nominal values adjusted to real 1982-1984 values based
on the average consumer price index (CPI) of the three months making up the quarter. See BLS, "Consumer Price
Index: January 2000" (February 18, 2000) (available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/history/cpi_02182000.txt);
BLS, "Consumer Price Index: February 2000" (March 17, 2000) (available at
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/history/cpi_03172000.txt); BLS, "Consumer Price Index: March 2000" (April 14,
2000) (available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/history/cpi_04142000.txt); BLS, "Consumer Price Index January 2016" (February 19, 2016) at 4 (available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_02192016.pdf);
BLS, "Consumer Price Index - February 2016" (March 16, 2016) at 4 (available at
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_03162016.pdf); BLS, "Consumer Price Index - March 2016" (April
14, 2016) at 4 (available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_04142016.pdf).
26

38

ACS income data also show an increase in the affluence of Hispanic households during the past
decade. Figure 34 shows the change in the number of households with an income of $200,000 or
more from 2005 to 2015. Hispanics had the highest percentage increase, with the number of
households increasing by 187 percent compared to 104 percent for the US as a whole and 89
percent for white non-Hispanics.27
FIGURE 34:
GROWTH IN HOUSEHOLDS WITH INCOME OF $200,000 OR MORE
(2005-2015)
200

187

180

Percent Change (%)

160
140
120

104

100

89

80
60
40
20
0

Hispanic

All

White Non-Hispanic

Source: 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey. Note: Data are in nominal dollars.

27

See U.S. Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey.

39

Data on the distribution of households by income bracket also show increasing Latino affluence.
In Figure 35, the top chart shows the percentage of total Hispanic households by income bracket
for the years 2005 and 2015. The chart below shows the difference between the 2005 and the
2015 percentages by income bracket in percentage points. The percentage of Latino households
within all income brackets under $50,000 has declined since 2005 and the percentage has
increased for all income brackets of $50,000 or more.
FIGURE 35:
CHANGE IN LATINO HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION BY INCOME BRACKET
(2005-2015)

Source: 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey. Note: Data are in nominal dollars.

40

At the other end of the income ladder, and as shown in Figure 36, Hispanics continue to have
higher poverty rates than the population overall21.4 percent in 2015 compared with a national
average of 13.5 percent. But here too the trends are positive: The Latino poverty rate declined
2.2 percentage points from 2014 to 2015, from 23.6 percent in 2014 to 21.4 percent in 2015, and
is now below its pre-recession level of 21.5 percent. The overall US rate, by contrast, has not
recovered from the recession.

FIGURE 36:
POVERTY RATE BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP
(2007, 2014-2015)
25

23.6
21.5

2007

21.4

2014

Poverty Rate (%)

20

2015
14.8

15

12.5

13.5
10.1

10

8.2

9.1

5
0

Hispanic

All

Source: US Census Bureau.

41

White Non-Hispanic

B. Hispanics as Consumers
As the Hispanic population and incomes have grown, so has Hispanic buying power. A report by
the Selig Center for Economic Growth analyzes historical trends in buying power for racial and
ethnic groups.28 Figure 37 compares Hispanic buying power with non-Hispanic buying power,
including a forecast for 2020. Between 1990 and 2015, Hispanic buying power increased more
than seven-fold, from $213 billion to $1.32 trillion, and is projected to grow to $1.72 trillion by
2020. The Latino share of total US buying power increased from five percent to 10 percent over
the same period.

FIGURE 37:
BUYING POWER BY ETHNICITY (1990-2020)
18,000
16,000

Dollars (BN)

14,000

16,189

Hispanic
Non-Hispanic

13,455
11,227

12,000

7,399
495

8,000

4,000

4,297
213

2,000

4,084

1,322

1,010

10,000

6,000

1,721

1990

14,468
10,217

12,133

6,905

2000

2010

2015

2020

Source: Jeffrey Humphreys, The Multicultural Economy 2015, Selig Center for Economic Growth (2015) at 10. Note:
Buying power for 2020 is projected.

28

See Jeffrey Humphrey, The Multicultural Economy 2015.

42

To put Hispanic buying power into context, Figure 38 compares the buying power of American
Latinos against the Gross Domestic Products of the 15 largest economies in the world. If US
Latino consumers were a country, they would represent the worlds fourteenth largest
economyahead of both Spain and Mexico, and approximately equal to the GDP of the Russian
Federation.
FIGURE 38:
LATINO BUYING POWER COMPARED VS. 15 LARGEST WORLD ECONOMIES
(BY GDP; 2015)
20
18

17.95

USD (Trillions)

16
14
12

10.87

10
8
6
4
2

4.12

3.36

2.85

2.42

2.07

1.81

1.77

1.55

1.38

1.34

1.33

1.32

1.20

1.14

Source: Jeffrey Humphreys, The Multicultural Economy 2015, Selig Center for Economic Growth (2015); World Bank.

43

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Hispanics make up a growing proportion of
total US consumer spending, and Hispanic spending is increasing at a faster rate than other
ethnic groups and the US as a whole. Figure 39 shows total US consumer expenditures over the
period of 2010 to 2015. Hispanic spending increased from approximately $606 billion to $798
billion over the period, or by approximately 32 percent, compared to 23 percent for the US as a
whole.
FIGURE 39:
AGGREGATE EXPENDITURES BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2010-2015)
8,000

Expenditures ($BN)

7,000
6,000
5,000

6,398
659
595

6,421

6,791
740

7,187
798

606
518

6,074
632
541

4,700

4,901

5,144

5,169

5,439

5,735

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

5,824

687
565

611

654

4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0

White Non-Hispanic

Other Non-Hispanic

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.

44

Hispanic

Overally, Hispanic spending patterns closely mirror those of other ethnic groups. As shown in
Figure 40, Hispanic spending on health care (62 percent), transportation (56 percent), and
personal insurance and pensions (36 percent) grew more rapidly over the past five years than for
the overall population.
FIGURE 40:
GROWTH IN AGGREGATE EXPENDITURES BY RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUP (2010-2015)
70

Hispanic

62

% Change 2010-2015 (%)

60

All

56

White Non-Hispanic

50

50

46

46

44

40

37

36

32

30

Other Non-Hispanic

31
23 22

26

26

25

23

28

24

23
18

20
10

16

22

20 20

22 22

23
17
7

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.

45

15 15
11

These differences aside, Hispanic shopping habits overall are very similar to those of other
Americans. As shown in Figure 41, Latino consumers spend a slightly higher percentage of their
total expenditures on housing, transportation, food, and apparel than non-Hispanics, and slightly
less on personal insurance/pensions, healthcare, and entertainment.
FIGURE 41:
PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY CATEGORY
(2015)
Housing

U.S.

Hispanic

Transportation

10

Food

33

Personal
Insurance-Pensions
Healthcare
Entertainment

11

13

17

Apparel

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey.

46

Transportation
Food

35

10

Personal
Insurance-Pensions
Healthcare
Entertainment

14

Other

Housing

Apparel

19

Other

V. The Top 25 Latino MSAs

As noted above, the Latino population is increasingly dispersed, with the fastest growth
occurring in northern states like Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, and North Dakota. This
section presents data on the 25 MSAs with the largest Latino economies as measured by personal
income. Together, the Latinos in these MSAs account for about 36 million people (63 percent of
the overall US Latino population) and over $659 billion in personal income (67 percent of total
Latino personal income). These communities are widely dispersed across the US They include
both southwestern cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix; Midwestern hubs like Chicago and
Denver; and northeastern metropolises like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.
Latinos in these communities account for a disproportionate share of the growth in population
and employment, as well earnings. And, as is the case nationally, they are younger than the
population at large and increasingly affluent.

47

Figure 42 shows the distribution of Latino personal income across these 25 MSAs as of 2015.
Latinos in Los Angeles earned over $100 billion in personal income in 2015, with New York
($99 billion), Miami ($58 billion), Houston ($44 billion), and Chicago ($37 billion) rounding out
the top five. Latino incomes exceeded $10 billion in 21 MSAs.
FIGURE 42:
HISPANIC AGGREGATE PERSONAL INCOME (2015)
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Miami, FL
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL
Riverside, CA
Dallas, TX
San Antonio, TX
San Francisco, CA
Washington, DC
Phoenix, AZ
San Diego, CA
Orlando, FL
Austin, TX
Denver, CO
San Jose, CA
El Paso, TX
McAllen, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Boston, MA
Tampa, FL
Atlanta, GA
Philadelphia, PA
Sacramento, CA
Albuquerque, NM

12.4
12.3
12.1
11.6
11.2
10.7
10.6
10.1
10.0
9.8
9.3
9.0
8.2
0

24.4
23.7
22.8
21.8
19.7

37.1
35.5
32.8

44.0

57.8

50
Aggregate Personal Income ($BN)

Source: US Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey.

48

103.5
99.2

100

As shown in Figures 43 and 44, Latinos account for a disproproportionate share of both
population growth and income growth in nearly every MSA.
Figure 43 compares Latino population growth over the last decade in each city to the growth of
the overall population. The Latino population in these cities grew by 28 percent between 2005
and 2015, which is a somewhat slower pace than the US overall. Figure 43 also shows a growth
rate that is 14 percentage points faster than the 14 percent overall population growth rate for
these 25 MSAs. The Latino population grew fastest in Orlando, Philadelphia, and Washington;
and slowest in Los Angeles, El Paso, and Chicago. The largest differences in population growth
between Hispanics and the overall population occurred in Philadelphia, Boston, and Orlando; the
smallest differences were in Los Angeles, McEllen, and El Paso.
FIGURE 43:
COMPARISON OF HISPANIC AND TOTAL POPULATION GROWTH RATES
(2005-2015)
Orlando, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
Tampa, FL
Boston, MA
Austin, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Atlanta, GA
Houston, TX
Sacremento, CA
Dallas, TX
Riverside, CA
United States
San Antonio, TX
Miami, FL
San Diego, CA
Albuquerque, NM
Top 25 MSA
San Francisco, CA
McAllen, TX
Denver, CO
New York, NY
Phoenix, AZ
San Jose, CA
Chicago, IL
El Paso, TX
Los Angeles, CA

Hispanic
All

10

20

30
40
50
Population Growth (%)

60

70

80

Source: US Census Bureau 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey.

Figure 44 shows data comparable to Figure 43, but for growth in income rather than population.
Latino incomes in the top 25 MSAs grew by 57 percent between 2005 and 2015, which is much

49

faster than the 33 percent rate of overall income growth for these citiesand more than double
the rate (28 percent) of population growth. The aggregate personal income of Latino households
grew by approximately 102 percent in Houston and Orlando, 99 percent in percent in Boston,
and 97 percent in Philadelphia.
FIGURE 44:
COMPARISON OF HISPANIC AND OVERALL GROWTH IN AGGREGATE PERSONAL INCOME
(2005-2015)
Orlando, FL
Houston, TX
Boston, MA
Philadelphia, PA
Washington, DC
McAllen, TX
Austin, TX
Tampa, FL
El Paso, TX
San Antonio, TX
Dallas, TX
Las Vegas, NV
United States
San Francisco, CA
Denver, CO
Atlanta, GA
Top 25 MSAs
San Diego, CA
New York, NY
Phoenix, AZ
Miami, FL
Riverside, CA
Sacremento, CA
Chicago, IL
Albuquerque, NM
San Jose, CA
Los Angeles, CA

Hispanic

All

20
40
60
80
100
Growth in Aggregate Personal Income (%)

120

Source: US Census Bureau 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey.

Overall, Latinos annual incomes in these 25 communities increased by over $238 billion
between 2005 and 2015including by $34 billion in the New York MSA alone.

50

This rapid growth in overall Latino income is the result of a combination of population growth
(detailed above) and growth in per capita and household income. Figure 45 shows the growth in
per capita and median household income for the top 25 MSAs between 2005 and 2015. Average
per capita income for these 25 cities rose by 20.1 percent, from $15,340 to $18,427, while the
median household income rose by 23.1 to $47,256.

FIGURE 45:
COMPARISON OF GROWTH IN AVERAGE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND INCOME PER
CAPITA BETWEEN HISPANICS AND THE OVERALL POPULATION IN THE TOP 25 MSAS
(2005-2015)
25

Hispanic

23.1

All

Growth (%)

20

20.1

22.6

19.4

15

10

Income Per Capita

Median Household Income

Source: US Census Bureau 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey.

51

While both figures remain below the averages for the population overall, the income gap is
closing rapidly. Figure 46 shows Latino median household income as a percentage of total
median household income for each of the top 25 MSAs. Latino median household income
remains below those for the overall population in all op 25 MSAsbut in 15 of these MSAs, the
median Hispanic household now earns 75 percent or more of the median for the overall
population, an increase from 14 MSAs in 2005.
FIGURE 46:
HISPANIC MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME AS A PERCENTAGE OF OVERALL MEDIAN
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
(2015)
McAllen, TX
El Paso, TX
Riverside, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Miami, FL
Tampa, FL
San Antonio, TX
Albuquerque, NM
United States
Sacremento, CA
Orlando, FL
Chicago, IL
Los Angeles, CA
Houston, TX
San Diego, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Top 25 MSAs
Washington, DC
Dallas, TX
Austin, TX
Atlanta, GA
Denver, CO
San Francisco, CA
New York, NY
San Jose, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Boston, MA

54.2
0

93.4
93.1
89.2
86.8
86.4
85.5
83.3
83.0
80.3
80.0
79.3
78.7
78.1
76.3
75.7
75.3
75.2
74.5
74.5
71.7
71.5
70.8
69.9
65.1
63.7
63.2

20
40
60
80
Hispanic Median HH Income as % Total (%)

Source: US Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey.

52

100

Figures 47 and Table 1 highlight the growing affluence of the Latino population. As shown in
Figure 47, the number of Latino households with incomes over $100,000 grew by 123 percent in
the top 25 MSAs (compared to 55 percent for the overall population), while the number of
households with incomes over $200,000 nearly tripled, growing by 187 percent (compared with
104 percent for the overall population).
FIGURE 47:
GROWTH IN HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS WITH INCOMES OF +$100,000 AND +$200,000
(2005-2015)
McAllen, TX
Boston, MA
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL
Orlando, FL
Washington, DC
Austin, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Tampa, FL
San Diego, CA
Atlanta, GA
New York, NY
Phoenix, AZ
United States
Dallas, TX
Top 25 MSAs
Sacremento, CA
Riverside, CA
San Antonio, TX
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Miami, FL
Denver, CO
El Paso, TX
Albuquerque, NM

HHs with Income of

$200,000 or More
HHs with Income of
$100,000 or More

100

200
300
400
500
Household Growth (%)

Source: US Census Bureau 2005 and 2015 American Community Survey.

53

600

700

Table 1 shows the number of Latino households falling into each category as of 2015. There are
more than 50,000 Latino households with an income of $100,000 or more in 11 of the top 25
MSAs: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Riverside, Washington DC, Dallas,
San Francisco, San Antonio, and San Diego. Nine of the top 25 MSAs have more than 10,000
households with an income of $200,000 or more: New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston,
Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Riverside, and Dallas.
TABLE 1:
HISPANIC HOUSEHOLDS WITH + $100,000 AND +$200,000 ANNUAL INCOME (2015)
MSA
New York, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Miami, FL
Houston, TX
Chicago, IL
Riverside, CA
Washington, DC
Dallas, TX
San Francisco, CA
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA
Phoenix, AZ
San Jose, CA
Denver, CO
Austin, TX
Boston, MA
McAllen, TX
Sacremento, CA
El Paso, TX
Philadelphia, PA
Atlanta, GA
Orlando, FL
Tampa, FL
Albuquerque, NM
Las Vegas, NV
Top 25 MSAs
United States

Households
$100,000 or More $200,000 or More
275,584
52,105
270,483
39,902
138,037
30,492
109,708
18,512
95,159
14,212
89,678
10,120
75,697
16,511
72,662
10,011
71,970
14,106
55,798
6,230
51,873
8,607
46,999
7,078
39,127
7,809
30,905
2,987
28,525
4,632
26,940
5,031
25,045
4,161
23,833
4,351
23,134
1,654
22,831
3,480
22,627
3,220
22,041
4,563
19,728
3,525
18,894
2,570
18,414
1,892
1,675,692
277,761
2,354,051
369,815

Source: US Census Bureau 2015 American Community Survey.

54

VI. Conclusion
The data presented in this study demonstrate that the Latino community in the US is a source of
both demographic and economic dynamism. Latinos are making America younger, more
entrepreneurial, more likely to be employed, and increasingly affluent. They are contributing
disproportionately to productivity and economic growth. Given the demographic profile of
Hispanic Americans, it seems extremely likely these trends will continue in the years to come.

55

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